


i'll make this feel like home

by punkjuggie



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Asexual Character, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-19
Updated: 2017-03-19
Packaged: 2018-10-07 14:44:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10362756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punkjuggie/pseuds/punkjuggie
Summary: There's something about sharing a bed that makes you feel safe. However, sharing a bed with the right person can make you feel at home.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is post 1x07 and canon compliant except for the fact that bughead doesn't exist. Find me on tumblr @punkjuggie.

“Hey Juggie,” Archie whispered in the middle of the night. He was lying in bed while his best friend was sleeping on a makeshift mat down on the floor.

He was excited at first to have Jughead living with him. It kind of felt like a sleepover every night. But now, a week had passed and Archie found himself content with the new familiarity of having the other boy share his room. He couldn’t remember how he ever got any sleep before because now, he was almost certain that he could never fall asleep without the soft lullaby of Jughead’s breathing.

“Juggie,” Archie repeated. “You still awake?”

“No,” Jughead groaned and Archie smiled and sat up.

“Buddy, I was thinking-”

Jughead interrupted him. “Well, I _was_ sleeping.”

Archie rolled his eyes in the darkness. “No, listen. I wanted to apologize.”

Archie waited a moment to see if Jughead was going to say something, anything. He couldn’t see his friend in the darkness of the room and Archie thought that it would make this whole thing easier.  

“I’m listening,” Jughead told him.  
“I’m sorry man,” he began. “I’m sorry I was such a jerk this summer, I totally let you down. And I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you, and that I was too selfish to notice what was going on with you. I made some bad decisions these past few months-”

Jughead snorted.

“Okay, I made horrible choices, but I’m gonna make it up to you. You living with me? That was the first part of my redemption arc.”

“Redemption arc?” Jughead repeated, incredulous.

“Yeah, that’s what you writers call it, right?”

Jughead chuckled. “Alright, what else?”

“I’m gonna make sure Reggie leave you alone. Wait, not just Reggie. The whole football team!”

“Arch, they don’t really-”

“No, no! Redemption arc. I’m gonna help you and Betty investigate the murder…”

“Oh, that’s really not necessary-”

“And I’m gonna help you get your mom and Jellybean back home.”  
The room fell silent.

“Juggie?”

“Yeah, sorry, that’s-” a pause. “That’s very sweet of you, thanks, Arch.”

Archie let out a breath. “I’m not letting you down ever again.”

“I know buddy,” Jughead said, just above a whisper.

There was another silence where neither of them really knew what to say but neither of them could go back to sleep.

“Are you comfy? On the floor?” Archie finally asked after a while.

Jughead chuckled. “It’s no five-stars hotel but it’s better than a maintenance closet. I’d give you and your dad a good Yelp review.”

Archie laughed as he tried to peek at the lump on the floor.

“Do you… do you wanna sleep up here tonight?” Archie offered, a hint of red tinting his cheeks.

“Is this part of your redemption arc? Getting me into bed with you?” Jughead asked with what appeared to be a raised eyebrow but made no move to get up from under his sleeping bag.

  
“Please Jug, I’ve known you all my life. I know you’re not interested in getting anyone in bed ever. I just thought maybe you’d feel better in a real bed.”

Jughead seemed to hesitate but ultimately, he got up from the floor and climbed into bed next to his friend.

“Just tonight,” Jughead conceded. “And you keep your hands to yourself! I don’t want you taking advantage of me so early in our relationship.”

“Relationship?” Archie asked, amused. Despite the sudden lack of space, the extra warmth Jughead brought along under the covers made Archie feel even more at home in his own room.

“Yeah, roommate relationship. No more questions now, it’s time to sleep.”

Archie chuckled. “Yes, dad.”

“ _Please_ don’t call me dad, Arch. That’s just weird.”

This made Archie laugh even harder. “Alright, pal. But if you ever feel the need to call _me_ dad-”

“I said sleep, Andrews,” Jughead mumbled into the pillow.

Archie simply smiled. He felt content like everything was bound to get back to normal.

“Sweet dreams Jug,” he whispered into the dark.

-

“I can’t sleep,” Jughead’s voice broke the silence in the room.

Without a word, Archie shifted to the left side of the bed and lifted up the covers beside him. It became a routine when neither of the boys was able to fall asleep. Archie didn’t mind, in fact, he liked it better that way. Sleep came much easier when he had his best friend safe next to him.

Jughead crawled underneath the cover but instead of facing the wall like he usually did, he turned on his side to look at Archie.

“Do you think my dad is really gonna get his act together?” he asked his friend and Archie sighed, before rolling on his side to face Jughead as well.

“I wish I could tell you what you want to hear, but I don’t know Jug,” Archie admitted.

“Yeah,” Jughead breathed out and Archie’s heart hurt for his friend. “Sometimes I think-”

He stopped himself, as if unsure. “What?” Archie prompted him.

Jughead sighed. “Sometimes I wonder if I had the chance to have a dad like yours if I would have turned out… normal.”

Archie frowned. “What? That’s ridiculous, there’s nothing wrong with you Juggie!”

“Then why did my mother leave me behind?”

Jughead’s statement was flat, devoid of emotion but Archie knew how much it must have killed him. His first instinct would be to wrap his arms around Jughead and squeeze the pain out of him. Just hold him until all the fears and heartbreak left his body. He knew he couldn’t do that, though, because Jughead had a thing about personal space and physical contact and Archie didn’t want to further upset him. Instead, he just grabbed Jughead’s hand and gave it a little squeeze, a reminder that he was always there for him.

A reminder that no matter what, he’d have a home at Archie’s side.

“Hey Jug, you remember that summer when you got your tree house?” Archie suddenly said.

“Yeah?” Jughead’s voice was small and Archie squeezed his hand again.

“That was also the summer that my dad and my mom started fighting,” Archie remarked.

“Oh yeah, I remember that.”

“I told you that I couldn’t get any sleep at home because of all the screaming. The next day, you had arranged a small mattress, pillows, and blankets in the treehouse and you told me that if they ever got too loud again, I could sneak out and join you there,” Archie told him.

Jughead smiled. “And then we had sleepovers every night for a week after that.”

“We would just hide in your little tree house, and in the end, everything turned out alright,” Archie said.

“Well, not to be rude Arch, but your mom’s gone,” Jughead pointed out.

“Still, I live with my dad and my best friend, so I have it pretty good,” he murmured, looking into Jughead’s eyes. “It’ll work out for you too Juggie,” Archie told him and it sounded like a promise.

For a moment, they just looked at each other, breathing in sync. It almost felt like a dream.

“We should probably get to sleep now,” Jughead whispered and Archie nodded.

“Yeah, alright,” he agreed and turned slightly over to get on his back.

Several minutes passed and Archie was almost certain that the other boy had fallen asleep. His own eyelids had started to droop when the soft voice cut through the silence.

“Hey Arch.” A breath. “I’m glad to be able to say that I’m at home with you.”  
Archie felt as though this wasn’t meant to be heard so he simply smiled and closed his eyes.


End file.
